


Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe

by Neva_Borne



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: AU, Aangst, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ambassador Zuko, Angst, AtLA, Canon divergence is an understatement, Canon is literally out the window, Cute, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Katara - Freeform, Minor Sukka, Mutual Pining, One Shot, POV Zuko, Slow Burn, Sokka - Freeform, Southern Water Tribe, Tumblr Prompt, Waterbending & Waterbenders, Zuko - Freeform, Zutara, Zutara Prompt, ozai is still a dick, princess katara, prompt, proposal, sorta?, suki - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-31
Updated: 2020-08-31
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:27:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,932
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26207170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Neva_Borne/pseuds/Neva_Borne
Summary: In a world where there was no Hundred Year War, Zuko is assigned to be the Ambassador of the Southern Water Tribe by his uncle, Fire Lord Iroh. In the frigid South Pole, he meets a fascinating waterbender named Katara, who happens to be the princess.
Relationships: Katara & Zuko (Avatar), Katara/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 14
Kudos: 228
Collections: Zutara One Shots





	Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe

The first time Zuko visited the Southern Water Tribe, he was ten. His uncle, Fire Lord Iroh, had ordered Zuko’s father to negotiate a new trade deal with Chief Hakoda, and had insisted that he bring his two children, Zuko and his little sister Azula, with him.

Zuko had been entranced by the cold and the snow, the way the sun glinted off the ice and nearly blinded him as their dull grey ship approached the dock of the magnificent capital of the Southern Water Tribe. The chill wind bit at his exposed skin and as he stared at the water below them, he wondered how any animals could survive in its below freezing temperature.

He and Azula had been left to their own devices while Ozai and Hakoda did their business behind closed doors, and they had taken to exploring the palace and nearby city. They knew that Hakoda had two children as well, about their same ages, but they never seemed to be around.

One day, when they were playing hide and seek, Zuko got hopelessly lost trying to find a place where Azula wouldn’t find him and stumbled upon a previously undiscovered courtyard. He stared around in wonder at the beautiful architecture - all made of ice and snow and carved into shape by skilled waterbenders - and at the endless blue sky above him. There was a fountain in the middle of the courtyard depicting two twin koi fish, one black, one white, circling each other as streams of water poured from their mouths. How the water was flowing and not permanently frozen into ice, Zuko had no idea. But, as fascinating as the fountain itself was, Zuko’s golden gaze fell on something even more interesting.

A small girl, dark-skinned just like the rest of the tribe, stood not far from the fountain. She was dressed in a pale blue parka that was decorated with silver symbols of the sun and the moon, and her dark hair was pulled back into an intricate braid save for two loops of hair that came down in front of her face and then back up to connect with the knot at the back of her head. She was moving fluidly, shifting her weight back and forth as a stream of water, glistening in the ever-present summer sun, echoed her movements in the air above her head. 

He watched in awe as the girl moved, unaware of his presence, through her various bending forms, as the water moved in tandem. He’d never seen a waterbender in action before. In fact, he’d never seen anything other than firebending in his life. The ambassadors from the other nations that came to stay in the palace were often benders, of course, but they didn’t exactly display their abilities while on political business.

Suddenly the girl turned, her water following her and then speeding towards him. Before he had a chance to cry out or move, the water encased his body and froze him in place. He stood, unable to move, and stared at the girl with wide eyes, terrified and yet utterly enthralled. 

She approached him, furrowing her brows, and he realized that her eyes were the most brilliant shade of blue he’d ever seen. He swallowed.

“You’re not Water Tribe.” She said. It wasn’t a question. It was obvious that he didn’t belong in the world of ice and snow in his thick red coat and dark brown boots, with his pale skin and jet black hair pulled into a ponytail, and he wasn’t surprised that she recognized him as an outsider.

He shook his head, his mouth still too dry to speak.

“You’re the Fire Nation prince my dad mentioned.”

He nodded, and the girl considered him for a moment before raising and then lowering her hands as she exhaled. The ice around him melted away and he was surprised to find that he was more or less completely dry.

“I’m Katara.” She held out a hand.

“Zuko.” He choked out, taking her hand. It was surprisingly warm to the touch.

\---

The second time Zuko visited the Southern Water Tribe, he was sixteen. A lot had happened in the six years since his last visit, and it was just him and his father visiting this time. Azula had elected to stay in the Fire Nation and continue her lightning-bending studies with Lo and Li. 

When their grey ship pulled into the harbor, he was a bit surprised to see a larger welcome party awaiting them than the previous visit.

Chief Hakoda stood there beside his wife - Kya, he believed her name was - and a boy who looked to be about Zuko’s age. He was nearly as tall as Hakoda but slimmer, not quite built like a man yet, and his hair was shaved on the sides and pulled into a small, fluffy ponytail-like thing. The style looked much better than Zuko’s ponytail ever had, and he was glad that he had cut his hair and wore it in a small topknot now.

The boy must be Sokka, Zuko reasoned. He hadn’t met him on his last trip since apparently he had been on a hunting trip, though why a ten-year-old would go hunting, Zuko didn’t know. 

Beside Sokka, however, was a shorter figure, her hair in nearly the exact same style as it had been the last time he saw her, her blue eyes bright and intelligent as she watched the ship come to a grinding halt before her. 

Katara. The Water Tribe princess.

His stomach twisted and he suddenly felt sick as he turned his head away. He was suddenly afraid of how she might react to him now that so much had changed. Now that his face had changed.

He glared down at the metal floor of the ship’s deck as the ramp to disembark was lowered, silently cursing his father and himself.

Normal, formal greetings were exchanged as Zuko and his father approached the Water Tribe royal family. Zuko avoided looking at Katara, but he felt the weight of her gaze upon him even as he stared resolutely ahead.

His avoidance didn’t last long. Ozai dismissed him as he and Hakoda moved further into the palace. Sokka was not dismissed, and followed the two older men into what Zuko could only assume was a study of some kind. 

He couldn’t deny the bitter pang of jealousy that rose in his throat as he watched the other boy go.  _ He  _ was treated like a man.  _ He  _ was treated with respect.

But not Zuko. Zuko was tossed aside like a troublesome child.

“I’ll show Prince Zuko to his room, Mom.”

It took him a moment to realize that the sweet, soft voice came from the girl beside him. She sounded so different from before: older, more mature, but with that same delicious hint of dangerousness lurking just beyond the surface.

He stared at the floor as he followed her in silence through the corridors of the palace. She was silent too, for a while, and the only sound was the echoing of their footsteps as they walked.

“What happened?” 

He looked up then, to find her blue eyes staring at him - not with pity, or repulsion, or any of the other negative emotions he had expected to see, but with a simple concerned curiosity. 

He raised his fingers to the left side of his face, feeling the now-familiar rough skin of the scar that stretched across his eye all the way to his deformed ear. It had been three years, long enough for him to almost forget about it when he was home in the Fire Nation. Everyone in the palace was used to his appearance by now, but Katara hadn’t seen him since he was ten. 

“I made a mistake.” He said, turning his gaze away from hers once again. “And I paid the price for it.”

He  _ felt  _ her frown, but didn’t dare meet her gaze again.

“What sort of mistake leads to something like that?”

He shrugged, as if it wasn’t a big deal. “I spoke out of turn.”

She was silent for a while as they continued on down the corridor, as if waiting for him to add more to the story, but when he remained silent, she stopped.

“Wait, that’s it?”

He stopped and turned to her. “Basically, yeah.” 

Her frown deepened and she studied him carefully, crossing her arms in a clear statement of disbelief. 

Zuko swallowed and glanced away, running his hand through his hair before realizing it was still up in its topknot and not loose like it normally was when he wasn’t attending formal functions. 

“My father took it as me disrespecting him.” He finally added.

“Your  _ father?”  _

He couldn’t look at her. He couldn’t bear to see the look of horror he knew he would see in her eyes. So he just tightened his jaw and nodded.

“I’m-” A huff. “That’s-” Another huff. “ _ Tui and La _ , Zuko.” 

Her words came through gritted teeth, and when Zuko finally dared to look at her, he was surprised to see pure fury burning in her blue eyes. The corridor seemed to be suddenly several degrees colder, his breath fogging up before him as he exhaled. He stared at her, a little afraid of the fiery rage that had bubbled up within the waterbender.

“Sorry.” She finally managed, exhaling deeply as he watched her visibly release the tension in her body. Some of the ice receded from the walls and his breath was no longer forming ice crystals in the air.

“This is your room,” she said, gesturing to one of the nondescript doors. “See you later.”

She left, and he didn’t get another chance to talk to her before he and his father left the next morning.

\---

The third time Zuko visited the Southern Water Tribe, he was eighteen and he was alone. Fire Lord Iroh had finally decided to promote Ozai to a position on his advisory council, and Zuko had taken over the role of Ambassador to the Southern Water Tribe. 

The entire royal family was once again waiting to greet him as his ship docked, with the addition of two elderly people: a man dressed in the dark blue parka typical of the Northern Water Tribe, and a woman dressed in a soft lilac parka who looked remarkably like Katara, though of course much older.

Sokka had grown to his father’s height and had filled out. A trimmed beard graced his jawline now, and he had a lock of hair with beads hanging loose from his wolftail, like his father. Beside him stood another addition to the welcome party: a tall, young woman with light tan skin and short auburn hair that made her stand out amongst the darker Tribesmen. From the way Sokka had his arm protectively around her waist and the rumors that had reached the Fire Nation of the Southern Water Tribe Prince getting engaged, Zuko assumed this was his betrothed. 

And there was Katara. She too was taller, and she wore her hair loose now. It cascaded in dark chocolate waves down her back and over her shoulders. She still wore the hair loopies, though she had added some beads to them since he last saw her. Her cheekbones were higher now, more pronounced. She no longer looked like a girl, but a woman.

He wondered how old she was now.

At the dinner feast that night, he found out.

“My esteemed family and friends,” Hakoda began, standing up with his glass of imported rice wine in hand. “And honored guests.” He nodded towards Zuko, who swallowed despite himself. “Today we celebrate my daughter Katara’s sixteenth birthday. She is now a woman within our culture, though all of you who know her know that she is wise beyond her years and has been instrumental within our tribe since she was just a young girl.”

Katara stood then, and Zuko stared at her, unable to tear his gaze away. She was dressed in a formal gown, far fancier than anything he had seen her in before. Gone was the fluffiness of the parka. This gown, a deep sapphire blue velvet embroidered with tiny silver sun and moon symbols that seemed to sparkle whenever she moved, hugged her body, flattering her curves and making it very clear to anyone witnessing the event that she really was a woman now. White fur lined the collar, sleeve cuffs, and skirt hem, and a silver sash was tied loosely around her waist, hanging to one side like a silver waterfall.

She was simply stunning.

“Thank you, father.” She said softly, smiling warmly at Hakoda before turning out to the crowd of assembled Water Tribesmen. “And thank you everyone for celebrating this special day with me. Eat, drink, and let Tui and La bless us on this night as we dance beneath the moon.”

She raised her hands in a move Zuko could now recognize as a waterbending form, and suddenly the sky above the assembled crowd was full of little droplets of ice hanging suspended in the air. His jaw dropped, despite himself, as Katara separated her hands and the ice turned to fluffy snowflakes that drifted down upon them as the crowd cheered and chanted her name. 

Her people loved her, and Zuko absolutely knew why.

The party lasted late into the night - although it was winter, and the sun never shone in this season of perpetual darkness, so midnight felt the same as noon to him. He asked a few young ladies to dance, out of politeness, but he was unfamiliar with most of the Water Tribe dances and retreated from the party when it became clear they were quite done playing songs he knew. 

He found his way to the courtyard where he’d first seen Katara. The koi fish fountain was still there, its water still magically liquid as it poured from the fishes’ mouths. He was absentmindedly playing with a small flame in his hands when he heard her voice behind him.

“I didn’t know you were a firebender.”

He turned to her, settling the flame in one palm. The firelight flickered in her eyes as she approached him, still dressed in the formal gown. Her hair clicked as she walked, full of beads and what looked like shards of ice or glass. 

“I almost wasn’t.” He admitted. He wasn’t sure why he was so honest with her - first about his scar, and now about this - but something about her just made him want to be… real. 

“I didn’t know you could make snow.” He added, clenching his fist as he let the flame die out.

She smiled. “That’s just a party trick. I know a lot more than that.”

His lips twitched into a small smile as well as he remembered watching her in that very courtyard all those years ago. “I don’t doubt it.”

“I’ve never seen firebending before, though.” Her voice was soft and quiet.

Zuko was silent for a moment, watching her carefully, before he caught onto her implied request.

“I could show you, if you want?”

Her blue eyes sparkled as her smile widened into a grin. “Really?”

“Yeah.” He confirmed. “But not here. I don’t want to melt anything.”

She laughed, and he felt his stomach tighten. He liked her laugh.

“Come on,” she said, grabbing his hand and dragging him away from the fountain and towards the palace walls. 

They made their way through various corridors and so many twists and turns that Zuko was hopelessly lost once more, like he had been when he was ten, and only Katara’s presence kept him from worrying that he was going to end up freezing to death before he would find his way back to his bedroom.

Soon enough, they broke out of the palace walls completely, and Zuko was surprised to find that they had also left the city completely and were out in the open tundra. The wind was more powerful here, blowing snow into the air in blustery swirls. 

“Aren’t you cold?” He called to her, almost shouting despite them being just a foot apart.

“Not really.” She replied, though she had wrapped both her arms around her shoulders as she trudged forwards through the ankle-deep snow. “Besides, we’re only out here for a few minutes.”

A moment later, they had descended into a small dip in the landscape and the wind instantly disappeared, raging over their heads instead of against their bodies. Before them was a fairly large patch of flat snow, compacted down by many feet over many years. 

“This is where I usually come to practice.” Katara explained. “You won’t melt anything important out here.”

He nodded, suddenly feeling very nervous. He was an excellent firebender. He hadn’t always been, of course, but he was now, after his uncle had taken precious time away from his busy schedule to tutor him, and after he met Ran and Shaw. But the thought of performing to Katara set his nerves on fire.

“Alright. Stand back here, out of the way.” He directed, indicating the most sheltered corner of the practice arena. “Is there anything special you want to see?”

She shook her head. “Whatever you want to show me. I’m sure it’ll be amazing.”

He nodded and turned away from her, focusing on his breathing as he set himself up on the opposite end of the field. He closed his eyes, bringing his fists together in front of him, and inhaled slowly.

Once.

Twice.

On the exhale of the third breath, he jumped forward, releasing a wave of flame from his hands as he sliced them down through the air. He continued through the motions, rolling to the right and sending a powerful blast of flame into the air. 

He barely had to think, the movements flowing one into the next as if it were his nature to move that way. And, really, it was. He slid into his favorite move, sweeping his legs around him as he balanced on his hands, sending out a circular blast of flame in all directions around him. Then he leapt to his feet and braced himself in a solid stance, focusing his energy on the flames he now cast from his hands. 

Two fire whips melded into one, became a dragon, soaring above their heads, beating its fiery wings until it landed in front of Katara, the snow steaming beneath its feet. It sat there for a moment before Zuko waved his hands in a similar motion to how Katara had made the snow earlier, and the dragon erupted into a million tiny sparks that were carried away as if on a gentle breeze.

Zuko brought his fists together and inhaled, then exhaled as he bowed his head, completing his ritual. When he opened his eyes, he was met with the brilliant blue of Katara’s eyes, staring at him with undisguised wonder.

“That was amazing,” she whispered, looking him over as though she expected to see him burned or injured somehow.

He flushed and rubbed the back of his head. “It wasn’t much, really.” He mumbled. “You should see my sister. She’s way better than I am. Her fire is blue.”

“I liked the orange.” She murmured, and he could have sworn that her cheeks darkened a bit. “It looked so beautiful against the snow and the sky.”

His throat was tight and his mind was utterly blank even as he tried to think of a response, but her eyes were just too blue, and she was just too close, and he was sure that he could smell her hair and it smelled like waterlilies and the ocean and it was maybe one of the best things he’d ever smelled.

Then she shivered, and suddenly he came to his senses.

“We should head back.” He muttered, dropping her gaze. “Before either of us freezes to death out here.”

Her face fell slightly. “Yeah.”

They walked back to the palace in silence.

\---

The fourth time Zuko visited the Southern Water Tribe, he was almost twenty-one, and as his ship pulled into the harbor, he couldn’t help but think of his last visit. After Katara’s birthday, he had barely seen her. He, Hakoda, and Sokka had had important business to discuss, and Katara left not long after to travel to the other nations, as was apparently custom when a princess turned sixteen in the Water Tribes. She had yet to return when he left to return home to the Fire Nation.

Katara was absent from the harbor when Zuko descended the ramp and greeted the rest of the royal family. He noted that Suki, Sokka’s now-wife, was heavily pregnant, which was obvious even beneath her massive parka. He congratulated them, which earned excited grins from them both as Sokka began telling him about the names they were thinking about - Koda, after his father, if it was a boy, and Yue, after the moon spirit, if it was a girl. 

“How’s Katara doing?” Zuko asked, once there was a lull in the conversation long enough for the question to not seem out of place.

“She’s… well, preparing to leave, actually.” Sokka admitted, and by the tone of his voice he didn’t seem very pleased with the idea.

Zuko’s heart stopped for a brief moment as he felt his stomach drop out of his boots. “What? Why?”

“Her fiance’s an Air Nomad. He wants to travel around with her.” Suki chimed in.

The word  _ fiance  _ made Zuko’s mouth go dry and he swallowed thickly. “Oh. I didn’t know she was engaged.”

Sokka shrugged. “He only proposed a few days ago. They haven’t made their official announcement yet.”

“I see.” Zuko murmured. “Well, that’s great that she’s happy.”

“Mhmm.” Sokka mumbled, offering his arm to Suki as they climbed a small set of steps. 

“Well, I know my way around by now, I think,” Zuko said, as Suki began waddling once more down the corridor. “I’ll meet you all for dinner and tomorrow we’ll start talking business?”

“Sounds good to me.” Sokka grinned, waving at him as he disappeared down the hall.

Zuko had become good friends with Sokka throughout his time as ambassador, and he realized that perhaps Sokka was his only real friend. Well, and Katara. Possibly. He had previously included Mai in that category, but after their failed disaster of a relationship the previous year, that friendship had more or less ended.

He didn’t go to his room. Instead, he made his way through the palace and out of the city towards the field Katara had showed him last time. He didn’t consciously remember the path, but his feet carried him where he needed to go, and before he knew it he was trudging through the snow and descending into the dip where her practice arena was located.

He stopped when he saw the abandoned blue parka and realized the arena was occupied.

She was dressed in a simple blue tunic with white trim, her hair loose and unadorned as it fell down her back and whipped around as she moved. Her stance was mostly grounded as her body shifted forward and back. Razor sharp icicles flew from her hands towards a crudely erected snowman in the center of the field. As soon as the ice was flying at the snowman, she switched to hold two water whips in her arms, sending them crashing against the dummy in a vicious display of force. 

And then she did something completely unexpected from a waterbender. She dropped down to her hands, kicking her legs out around her in a circle, sending snow and ice and water flying out all around her, slicing through the snowman and sending it toppling to the ground in a mess of wet snow.

His eyes widened as he just stared at her. The move she had just used wasn’t a waterbending move at all. It was barely even a firebending move.

It was  _ his  _ move.

“Oh.” 

Her voice came sharp and sudden and Zuko realized she was looking at him. Her face was flushed from the exertion but her brows were furrowed deeply, her lips curved down in a frown. 

“I didn’t realize you were here.” She continued, walking - or, more accurately,  _ stomping  _ \- over and grabbing her parka before looking up at him again.

“Sorry. I just arrived. I didn’t think you’d be here. Sokka said you were packing.” He explained.

She swallowed and looked back at the destroyed snowman - now nothing more than a lump of snow in the middle of the otherwise flat field. As she moved, Zuko’s attention was drawn to her neck, where a flash of purple shone. 

A necklace.

“And… congratulations. It’s beautiful.” He added, feigning sincerity although he felt anything but happy looking at the purple stone at her throat. 

Her blue eyes turned back to him and she raised a hand to the necklace, fingering the stone as though unsure whether she liked wearing it or not.

“I… thank you.” She swallowed. “I’m… supposed to be packing. We’re supposed to leave the day after tomorrow.”

“That’s pretty soon.”

She nodded, dropping her gaze. “It is. He wants to travel around. Show me the world. Show me the kind of life he’s lived as an Air Nomad. I guess they move around a lot, and usually they don’t get married. I guess the spirits showed him that he would, though. And he wants to get married at an Air Temple. While we’re traveling, you know? To simplify things.” She let go of the necklace, but didn’t look up at him. “He’s nice though. He wants to make me happy. And I think traveling will be fun.”

He swallowed. “I’m sure it will be.”

And suddenly she was looking up at him, and there was a desperation in her eyes that made his heart quake in his chest. 

“Tell me I’m not making a mistake, Zuko.” She whispered. “Tell me there’s no reason that I  _ shouldn’t  _ go with him.”

He could smell the waterlilies and ocean in her hair again, and even though there was no fire, he remembered how the fire had looked reflected in her eyes, and on her skin, and her shiny hair, and how she had created snow like it was nothing, and how she had looked dressed in that velvet gown on her birthday, and how she had frozen him in ice when they’d first met. He thought about how she made him tell the truth even when he didn’t want to, or didn’t tell anybody else and about how she hadn’t pitied him when he’d told her about his scar.

He remembered how she had looked at him after he showed her firebending, how she had incorporated his move into her own bending.  _ His  _ move. 

He remembered how warm her hand was when she touched him, and how unexpected that had been.

He swallowed and reached out a shaky hand, hesitantly placing it on her cheek, but she didn’t pull away. 

“I can’t tell you what to do, Katara.” He said, and his throat felt so dry he was amazed he could speak at all. “But I can tell you that I think you’re amazing and I respect you. That you’ve fascinated me since the first day we met, and every time I come to visit, I look forward to seeing you again. I can tell you that you’re the most incredible bender I’ve ever seen and that you’re a strong woman and leader within your tribe. I can tell you that your people love you and for good reason. I know you love your people too, and your culture, and I can tell that you don’t want to leave them.”

He licked his lips, steeling himself to continue. “I can tell you that you looked breathtaking on your birthday, but you always look amazing. And… I can tell you that the way you look at me - like right now - makes me want to kiss you. But I won’t kiss you because I don’t want to do anything you don’t want me to do, and I’ve been too much of a coward to ask.”

She was still staring at him, and he was sure he saw tears glistening in her eyes, and his heart was pounding in his chest. He was afraid that he’d gone too far, said too much. But this was his last chance, and she had asked, and finally he’d had the courage to speak.

“Ask me now.” She murmured.

His heart jolted. “W-what?” 

She licked her lips and blinked at him. “To kiss me. Ask me now.”

He inhaled shakily, reaching his other hand out to place gently on her waist as he drew her closer. Her cheek was soft against his hand and he ran his thumb tenderly across her skin. 

“Can I kiss you?”

His heartbeat was so loud in his ears, he barely heard her whispered, “yes” before he leaned down and pressed his lips against hers.

\---

The fifth time Zuko visited the Southern Water Tribe, he was twenty-two, and when he disembarked from the steel grey Fire Nation ship, he was greeted with a bone-crushing hug from the beautiful Water Tribe princess that he’d first met all those years ago by the koi fish fountain.

“Welcome home!” She murmured in his ear, pulling away so she could press her lips to his.

He wrapped his arms tightly around her and kissed his wife.

The fifth time Zuko visited the Southern Water Tribe, he didn’t leave.

**Author's Note:**

> Oh my god so this really got away from me. The prompt was Ambassador Zuko living in the Southern Water Tribe and I kinda just took that and RAN and it turned into this. 
> 
> I was actually really worried about writing this because the seemingly simple change to make Zuko an ambassador to the Water Tribe implied a HUGE AU and I didn't want the Water Tribe to have started the war because that would mean Hakoda was a tyrant or whatever and honestly creating that would mean having to delve a lot deeper into the AU than 5000 words could hope to accomplish, so this thing would have turned into an absolute beast of a fic.  
> So I decided there would be no war, and Iroh was Fire Lord, and that made things easier, but still interesting and still enough for Zuko to become an Ambassador.
> 
> I had so much fun writing this though! Thanks for the prompt!


End file.
